Devils' Schneider on reviewing goalie interference: 'We're more worried about getting run over'

On Monday the NHL's competition committee - a group whose membership is comprised of current players, general managers and ownership - met for five hours in New York and discussed a vast array of potential rule modifications for next season. Some possible changes include: lengthening the trapezoid, changing ends for overtime, the adoption of IIHF hashmarks, the annual blather about reducing embellishment, and the expansion of video review.

In particular, it became apparent Monday that the league is hoping to introduce some sort of limited coaching challenge system. Details remains scant, but if the expansion of video review is adopted by NHL general managers at their meeting in Florida on Wednesday, NHL coaches may be able to challenge missed off-side calls that result in a goal against, delay of game penalties, and the like.

One thing coaches won't be able to challenge if the league adopts a challenge system is goaltender interference, which seems odd since goaltender interference was probably the most frequently blown call in the league this past season. 

In two high-profile incidents in the Western Conference final and Stanley Cup final, goaltender interference calls (or non-calls) proved enormously controversial. Even in the regular season, teams and players complained often about the inconsistency of the league's goalie interference standard. 

New Jersey Devils netminder Cory Schneider, who was patched into the competition committee's meeting via conference call Monday, suggested that for NHL goalies, getting the call right is secondary to being protected in the crease.

"Instances like Game 2 [Dwight King’s goal] get amplified because of the stage, but overall the officials do a good job of protecting the crease," Schneider told ESPN's Craig Custance (Insider link). "When it could impact the game, like the other night, you say ‘Hey, I wouldn’t want that to happen to me.’ I think overall that the guys I talk to, we’re more worried about getting run over and flattened and staying safe that way."

Schneider's point of view echoes recent comments from Phoenix Arizona Coyotes goaltender Mike Smith, whose season ended prematurely after a collision in the crease. For Smith and Schneider, the incident that knocked Montreal Canadiens netminder Carey Price out of the postseason is apparently - and understandably - a bigger concern than allowing a costly goal against because a burly forward like Dwight King is basically sitting on you.

According to Custance the competition committee spent several hours considering the ins and outs of how including goaltender interference in the challenge system might work out, but couldn't reach any type of consensus:

The group that met in New York saw a series of goalie interference scenarios on video, and couldn’t come to a consensus on all of them over the course of a few hours. The argument is that introducing a judgement call as part of the replay package would just create more problems than it would solve. 

"It’s much more complicated than I ever would have given it credit for," explained veteran defensive defenseman Ron Hainsey. "There’s a judgement call on the ice. The game is fast, you make the judgement on the ice and you have a camera up top. You’re now going to substitute someone else’s judgement? It’s still going to be a judgement when you think about it like that."